Number 181

Uppity Women Speak Their Minds

"If men cannot cope with women in the medical profession, let them take a humble occupation in which they can." Sarah Josepha Hale (1788 - 1879) Editor of Godey's Lady's Book. The context of this quote is unknown, but it kinds speaks for itself.

"I've received my authority from the Lord God Almighty; have you anything that ranks higher than that?" Mary Ann "Mother" Bickerdyke (1817 - 1901) Spoken to a Union doctor after the U.S. Civil War battle of Shiloh. He questioned her presence on the battle field where she was distributing food, blankets and coffee to Union soldiers. "Mother" Bickerdyke personally marshaled supplies to feed and care for wounded soldiers in the south during the entire war. She set a new standard for getting things done.

"When I found I had crossed that line [into Canada], I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold though the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven." Harriet Tubman (ca. 1821 - 1913) This was her reflection when she achieved freedom for herself. As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, she helped more than 300 enslaved people find freedom in Canada.

"It would not do for the men to fight and starve, too." Sarah Osborn Benjamin (ca. 1750 - 1837) Sarah was the wife of a private in the Continental Army led by George Washington. Before battles, she routinely carried food supplies to the men in the trenches. This was her response when General Washington asked "Aren't you afraid of the cannonballs?"

"I ask no favors for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off our necks, and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God designed us to occupy." Sarah Grimke (1792 - 1873) Context unknown, but, you know... yep, you do.

"And I've suckled many a white babe, to the exclusion of my own." Sojourner Truth (1799 - 1883) As a formally enslaved person, the six foot tall Sojourner Truth was a tireless speaker on the horrors of slavery. Once, in Indiana, a heckler accused her of being a man. Ms. Truth bared her breast to the audience, and offered the response printed above. Totally bad ass.

"It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." Audre Lorde (1934 - 1992) Context unknown.

"Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in." Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born 1977) In the words of Michael Scott, Regional Manager of the Scranton, PA branch of Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company, "Boom, roasted!"

"I think trans women and trans people in general, show everyone that you can define what it means to be a man or woman on your own terms. A lot of what feminism is about is moving outside of roles and moving outside of expectations of who and what you're supposed to be to live a more authentic life." Laverne Cox (born 1972) Context unknown. For the record, I love this woman.

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is tenacity." Amelia Earhart (1897 - 1937?)

"Though the sex to which I belong is considered weak, you will nevertheless find me a rock that bends to no wind." Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603)